The State Water Board is invoking Term 91 and ordering those with permits or licenses that contain Standard Water Right Term 91 (Term 91) to immediately stop diverting water under the above water right. This condition of curtailment will continue until water conditions improve.
Term 91 is a provision included in many water permits issued by the State Water Resources Control Board that restricts specified post-1965 permittees and licensees from diverting water released by the State Water Project and the Central Valley Project into the Delta when natural and abandoned flows are insufficient to meet water quality standards and the water projects are supplementing flows with previously-stored water to meet those standards.
The primary intent of the provision is to ensure that water from the water projects that is being released to meet water quality standards is not diverted for other uses, thereby allowing the water to flow through the Delta to improve water quality.
Term 91 is designed to share the responsibility with specified junior diverters, as without Term 91 conditions, those diverters could take the water being released to meet standards, thereby forcing the Projects to release more water in order to satisfy their obligations to meet water quality standards.
term91_curtailment_notice2021
